This page describes the program for recycling and disposing of refuse at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and explains the protocols for a number of categories of refuse.

• Paper
• Cardboard
• Mixed containers

• Rubbish
• Large trash
• eWaste

• Metal/bulk
• Furniture
• others

UH Mānoa is committed to working towards sustainability and reducing our environmental footprint. We have recycling bins across campus (see map!) and have recently installed new signs to aid in properly sorting recyclables and refuse. Buildings and Grounds Management (BGM) is working with student groups to increase education around recycling and sustainability, following the "reduce, re-use, and recycle" strategy of waste reduction.

reduce...

People arriving in Hawai‘i from one of the continents are often surprised to find recycling options more limited here. Recycling still takes resources, particularly in transportation, and the distance from our islands to processing facilities makes recycling some materials unfeasible. For instance, we cannot recycle all kinds of "recyclable" plastics here, such as those used in Starbucks and Jamba Juice cups, and so those become mere rubbish here, a strain on waste disposal systems and a threat to the marine environment.

Consequently, we work with the campus community to reduce our use of disposable products as much as possible. There's been a dramatic reduction in newsprint recycling with the shift to online news sources, and as KaLeo has improved the efficiency of its press run. It's been good to see the growing trend towards use of personal water bottles, drinking vessels and eating utensils, and we are working to promote the wider adoption of the Japanese tradition of personal hand towels (tenugui). If you have suggestions for ways we can better support reduced consumption, please don't hesitate to let us know.

re-use...

UH Mānoa has several programs to reduce both the production of waste and the consumption of new materials through the redistribution of used goods to places where they can find further use. Departments can use the online UH Swap Meet to list used office, computer and lab equipment, or ask for equipment they need. UH also participates in a similar State of Hawai‘i program, described below. On an informal level, some groups on campus have organized unofficial "free stores" to exchange art supplies, plant seeds, books and other items.

The green waste is placed in the hopper of a large tub grinder and ground up and placed in long piles no more than 8' high. The piles are turned weekly for several months and then distributed throughout campus to be used as mulch in planter beds and around trees. This save the campus $20,000 annually in tipping fees alone! We no longer purchase soil conditioner or mulch and we are able to provide cover mulch to our contractors as needed to protect our soils from eroding during construction at no cost to the project.

To help us determine how much mulch we are creating and to provide us with a metric we measured the amount of time it took us to grind 3 cubic yards of mulch and we weighed the finish product. We then had an understanding of how many tons of mulch we were able to produce in a given time.

& recycle

Finally, for those materials we do end up needing to throw away, we have a variety of means of recycling them through different pathways, with disposal through H-Power or the landfill being the last resort. The charts below show our recent history, although we lack the data for some categories because of the way the material is collected, including the last few years of green waste and ewaste. The amount of trash, especially going to the landfill, has declined as our recycling efforts have improved.

The section below describes the receptacles located throughout the UH Mānoa campus. Please click here to go to our new recycling/refuse map to find the correct receptacle nearest to you. See our Recycle vs. Trash flyer for information on sorting refuse, and visit the EHSO website for all categories of Waste Disposal Procedures.